Hungerford, who is still living and married to a Frenchman of the name of De la Batut, has put in a claim to a part of the property; but as the claim is small, and not likely to come to much, the mother of Mr. Hungerford not having been married to his father, it is scarcely necessary at this time to detail the circumstances.

I asked at what time from the present the earliest, sitting of the court of chancery would be held. They replied in November. It will be my object to get the fund for the United States without a lawsuit in chancery of any kind, if this be practicable; and towards an end so desirable my further reflections and measures will for a while be directed, taking care that I do not lose the advantage of all proper applications at the first term of the court, for whatever form of suit or other legal proceedings may be found indispensable.

I have nothing further of any importance to communicate at this juncture. I delivered to the minister of the United States, Mr. Stevenson, the letter from the acting Secretary of State of July 27th, requesting his good offices in behalf of the public object with which I am charged, should they be needed; and I cannot close this letter without adding that I have already received co-operation from him that has been useful, and which gives carnest of the zealous interposition of his further aid, should it be required.

I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,

Hon. JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State.

RICHARD RUSH.

The Case Stated by Mr. Rush.

The testator died at Genoa on the 27th day of June, 1829, and on the 4th of November, in that year, the will was proved in the prerogative court of Canterbury, by Mr. Charles Drummond, one of the banking-house of that firm, mentioned in the will.

Soon after his death, an amicable suit was instituted in the court of chancery, by Henry James Hungerford, his nephew, against Mr. Charles Drummond, as executor, for the purpose of having his assets administered under the direction of that court. The usual orders and decrees were

made in the suit, and assets realized to the amount of about one hundred thousand pounds sterling in value, which are now invested in the public funds, and are standing in the name of the accountant general of the Court of Chancery, to the credit of the cause of Hungerford vs. Drummond, and applicable to the trusts of the will.

Mr. Hungerford, who resided out of England, received the income arising from the testator's property up to the time of his death. This took place on the 5th of June, 1835, at Pisa.

He was never married, and died without leaving any illegitimate children or child.

The events have therefore happened, by which the right of the United States of America is considered to have attached, as the residuary or final legatee under this will.

In July, 1835, their chargé d'affaires at this court, imparted official information to the Secretary of State, at Washington, of the preceding facts, who laid them before the President, with a copy of the will and other papers that were transmitted.

The President not having authority under his general executive powers to take any steps for accepting the trust or obtaining the fund, communicated the papers to Congress on the 17th of December of that year, with a view to such measures as that body might deem necessary.

Congress, acting on the ground that the bequest to the United States was valid, and that it would not be incompatible with their dignity to accept the fund as trustees, for an institution to be founded at Washington, for a purpose so broad and benevolent, passed, on the 1st of July last, an act authorizing the President to appoint an agent to assert and prosecute their right to the bequest, in such form, and before such tribunal or tribunals in England, as might be proper; and to receive and grant full acquittances for all such moneys or other funds as might be adjudged to them on account of it.

In pursuance of the authority given by this act, the President has appointed a citizen of the United States, in the person of the undersigned, to perform on their behalf the duty which it enjoins; and he is here, their representative and attorney in the matter set forth.

His full power from the President, and a copy, under seal of the Department of State, of the law on which it is founded, are ready to be filed in the Court of Chancery, or

otherwise made known to the Lord Chancellor, at whatever time and in whatever manner may be thought proper.

The United States having acceded to the bequest, the first duty of the undersigned is to obtain, for his high constituent, possession of the fund without any delay that can be avoided.

His questions for the opinion of counsel in England are: 1st. Can possession of it be obtained without a suit?

2d. If not, what is the form of suit or other legal proceeding which, by the laws of England, will give promise of putting the United States in possession of the fund in the most effectual and prompt manner?

LONDON, October 1, 1836.

Opinion of Counsel.

RICHARD RUSH.

1st. We are of opinion that the possession of the fund cannot be obtained without a suit.

2d. We think that the best course will be, that a bill, in the nature of a supplemental bill, should be filed in the name of the President of the United States of America, against the executors of Mr. Smithson, praying that the United States may be entitled to the fund upon trust, for the purposes expressed in the will; and that, upon obtaining a decree to that effect, a petition should be presented, in the name of the President and Mr. Rush, praying that the fund may be transferred to the latter, as the agent of the United States, appointed under the act of Congress.

As we understand that the testator, Smithson, was illegitimate, we think that it will be advisable to make the Attorney General a party to the suit, in order that he may represent before the court any claim which the Crown may have, either by reason of the question of the validity of the limitation to the United States, after a limitation to illegitimate children, or by reason of any part of the property consisting of interests in land.

LINCOLN'S INN, November 2, 1836.

THOMAS PEMBERTON.
EDWARD JACOB.

Richard Rush to John Forsyth.

LONDON, November 5, 1836.

I am following up the Smithsonian business, as you will take for granted. This week I had an interview with the counsel; but nothing has transpired calling for an official letter to you since the one I wrote on the 24th of September.

RICHARD RUSH.

John Forsyth to Richard Rush.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

WASHINGTON, November 17, 1836. SIR: You will receive enclosed the copy of an account presented to Daniel Brent, Esq., consul of the United States at Paris, by M. Castaignet, a French attorney, of certain fees charged by him for services rendered in relation to the effects of Mr. James Henry Dickinson, deceased, alias de la Batut, alias Hungerford, nephew of the late James Smithson, of London. Copies of Mr. Brent's letters of 23d October, 1835, and 14th August, 1836, explanatory of the subject, are also sent. As the whole amount of the fund appropriated by the act of Congress of 1st July, 1836, for defraying the expenses incident to the prosecution of the claim of the United States to the Smithsonian bequest, are in your hands, and as the bill, if correct, is properly chargeable to that fund, I have the honor to request that you will examine this account; and if you shall deem it just, and the amount reasonable, transmit to Mr. Brent the sum necessary to discharge the claim.

It may be proper also to allow to Mr. Delagrange, the attorney consulted in this case by Mr. Brent, a fee for his advice. You will perceive, however, that, before such an allowance can be made, it will be requisite to obtain from the latter precise information as to the amount of the charge.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

TO RICHARD RUSH, Esq., London.

JOHN FORSYTH.

Richard Rush to John Forsyth.

LONDON, November 22, 1836.

SIR: After my letter to you of the 24th of September, desirous as I felt of falling upon some mode by which the United States might get possession of the Smithsonian bequest, without the delays and difficulties apt to attend upon suits in chancery, prosecuted in the ordinary form, I found myself unable to do so. At one time it occurred to me, considering the peculiar nature and national aspect of the case, that perhaps an indirect appeal to the British Government, through the channel of our minister, might be justified; not, indeed, that an influence was to be brought to bear upon the judicial tribunals in any objectionable sense, but simply with a view to obtain some expression or intimation of its favorable dispositions towards the trust I bear from the President, as far as the laws of England might be in unison with it. But obstacles presented themselves to the actual pursuit of such a course, although I knew how ready Mr. Stevenson would have been to second it as far as in his power, that led me to turn from it, at least as an incipient step; without, however, losing sight of it, if it may seem practicable and advisable at any subsequent stage of the proceedings.

That course no longer looked to, it appeared to me that the first step, on my part, had better be to draw up a statement of the case for the opinion of counsel, submitting to them, as one of the questions, whether possession of the fund might not be obtained without a suit. The solicitors, I was aware, had said that it could not; but, on a preliminary point so important, I did not think that it would be proper to rest on them alone, but take the opinion of eminent counsel. On the 1st of October, I accordingly drew up a statement of the case, setting out a copy of the whole will, as obtained for my use from the registry of the prerogative court of Canterbury, adding the facts necessary to show what was believed to be the present right of the United States to the legacy, and my authority to receive it on their behalf. A copy of the statement is enclosed marked A.

The next step was to select the counsel. Here little deliberation was requisite, it being only necessary to ascertain the most eminent. I thought it would be advisable to